


Time Marches On

by Tory (Ejes)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Drabble, KH3 spoilers, KH3MarchOn, Short Fics, challenge, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-11-15 04:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 15,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18066671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejes/pseuds/Tory
Summary: [KH3 March On from Salt Prince on Twitter] 31 drabble to celebrate the long awaited release of Kingdom Hearts III. This will contain heavy spoilers about the game, so please keep that in mind before reading.





	1. Twilight Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's worth noting that every fic will be incredibly short, as they were meant to be Tumblr one shots. Please enjoy :)

Nothing had changed. The same sun setting red. The same paved streets. The hole in the wall had been fixed, and the town felt more lively than ever, but it was the same place Roxas knew. Twilight Town. His home.

It was strange to go back to a daily life. To forget about monsters and darkness and keyblade. A week ago he had fought a war ; his biggest concern today was whether or not he’d get a seat to watch the movie screening in the yard. If he had enough money to get a train ticket. If maybe tomorrow everyone could go to the beach.

It was strange to be complete. He understood that now. He never had been whole before. Despite his claims, his heart had never really belonged to him, it had always been a copy of one’s heart, or of another one’s. It was the first time ever he really was completely Roxas, not  _ Sora’s Nobody _ , not  _ almost Ventus _ .

It was strange, but he was getting used to it. Used to this daily life of ice-cream and considering going to school and just fooling around, in Twilight Town, the place he belonged. He was having fun every day, and he smiled a lot more than he used to. And it just didn’t feel right. He always dreamt of this life, but he didn’t want to forget the price to pay for this peace. It was here, in Twilight Town, that he met him for the first time. A sleepy head, looking so peaceful in his clothes that were too small and his shoes that were too big. There was no sleepy head anymore. That was the price to pay.

And now, every time Roxas looked at the sky, every time he heard someone mention how quiet the town was these days, he remembered who it was to thank for this peace, he felt that this was unfair, and he promised again and again that he would bring him back, that he owed him that much.

Nothing had changed, and Roxas promised himself that one day, it would.


	2. Olympus

“What does it mean, to be a hero? A real one? A real hero has the strength to protect what mattered. A real hero cares about others. Being a hero has nothing to do with age, gender, height, experience, skills. It only has to do with the heart. Your heart has to be strong, your will has to be strong. Whatever you do has to be for others, and not for yourself. If you want to be a hero for fame, for glory, then go back home, because you failed already. You don’t become a hero by wanting to be one. You become a hero by acting like one. I have trained many heroes in my life. Some you may know. Some you may not. But today, we are gathered to honour one of the greatest heroes I’ve ever trained. He doesn’t have a godly parent. He isn’t particularly tall, or strong. He started training only a couple of years ago. But he is someone you all ought to remember. Without him, none of us would be gathered here today. Without him, this city would have fallen to the Titans, to the Gods themselves, to human greed. Without him, everything would have been lost. And yet, here we are now. Without him. Our great hero has fallen in a last heroic act. His sacrifice saved us all. Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you all to remember his face. His name. Because one day, the Parcae may decide to bring him back to us, and we shall treat him the way he deserves. Not as a half pint, but as a full one. A true hero.”

The huge white sheet fell, revealing a huge statue, as tall as the Hercules one, revealed a few months ago, of a boy not old enough to be a man yet. He had spiky hair and a fierce smile. His name was engraved at the base of the statue, so that no one would forget.

_ In memory of Sora, who deserves these two words : thank you so much. _


	3. Monstropolis

Life had to go on. There were no monsters anymore - well, no illegal, not registered and paperless monsters, and the laugh factory was back to normal. Sneaking through closet doors at night, making children laugh, gathering enough laughters to power the city. No one ever heard of Randall again. Mike and Sulley went back to work, and were still good at it.  
But there was this door, that was here, and that no one ever mentioned. This door, that they kept powered at any time of day and night, a wooden door similar to any other door, and no one knew why it was so special, why they never sent it back, why they sometimes stopped to open, have a glance inside, and then come back with a sad smile.  
If one were to have a look at the child sleeping there, they would be disappointed, for, after all, there was no child in it. It was a regular room, full of wooden toys and models. A homemade ship was hanging from the ceiling, with two ragdolls in it. The bed was made, and the sheets were regularly changed, but it didn’t look like anyone had slept in it for years. From the window, you could see a lovely island, close enough to join with a mere rowboat. The room was full of drawings, and it looked very much like the room of a child who loved adventure, a child who spent a lot of time outside playing with friends. But it also looked like the room of a child who once left to play with friends, and who never came back.  
Was it why Mike and Sulley kept having a look at this room? To see if the child who lived here would come back some day?  
The monsters shook their heads. Of course it couldn’t be that. None of these two would be silly enough to bond with a human.  
Would they?


	4. Corona

“Are you sure about this? That sounds like a lot of work.”  
“Eugene Fitzherbert, are you trying to run away from this? We talked about this already. We talked about this together, with my parents, with everyone in town, and there wasn’t a single soul who disagreed with this idea. Not even you. Without this, I would still be locked in that Tower. It brought me home. And… I want to do the same thing for him.”  
And so it was decided officially. Everyone helped. Rapunzel didn’t want it to be a grand ceremony. Their Majesties wanted the event to be held yearly, just like they did for her. She wanted this to be done weekly. They found an agreement on holding this on the first day of every month.  
The night of the first event finally came, and she was there to watch it. As soon as the night fell, hundreds of lanterns rose into the dark skies, peacefully floating away. They all bore the Royal Sun, but in the middle of that sun was another symbol : a key that shone bright.  
“These lights guided me home,” Rapunzel whispered, sliding her hand into Flynn’s, “and I hope that he will see them one day. That they will guide him somewhere safe. Until we know he is alright, I want to keep this ceremony. Sora protected us. Don’t you think we owe him just as much?”  
And they stayed until the very last lantern disappeared, waiting. There was no sign of Sora. But Rapunzel had waited for eighteen years to come and see these lanterns for real ; she was a patient girl. She would wait. And she would make sure that at least once a month, she’d give Sora a chance to see the light.


	5. Arendelle

“Come on, Elsa, wake up! It’s time, it’s time! Let’s go!”

“Five more minutes, Anna…”

“No way! I’ve been up for an hour! Well I’ve been awake for an hour and then up for ten minutes. But anyways! Mother and Father were never late, at least I think, and as our Queen, you cannot be late either! Let’s gooo!”

“ _ You _ let go”, the Queen groaned, but she finally left her bed, her white hair a tangle mess. Servants helped her getting dress as her younger sister blabbed about everything. She was really excited and didn’t bother hiding it. Even Elsa found herself smiling, although she was well aware that this was a very formal situation. Formal enough for her not to complain about skipping breakfast or relaxing a bit before going. The two sisters were standing side by side in front of the throne room, nervous, but ready. The time had come. They nodded at a guard, and the doors opened before them.

They had fit as many people as they could in there. Soldiers and generals side by side. Artistocracy and townspeople. Church people,  doctors, fishermen, all social classes mixed, representing the people of Arendelle. They made way for the Queen and the Princess, who walked through the crowd while giving smiles and handshakes. People were whispering, but when Elsa cleared her throat, silence fell. Everyone was listening.

“Thank you all for coming today. As many of you heard already, our Kingdom has faced many dangers in the past months. There is, of course, this winter that I put you through, out of fear and self-rejection. This I cannot ever apologize enough, and you all know already that we are doing everything in our power to right as many things as we can. But I’m not talking only about that. Monsters invaded our lands. Creatures we never saw before, more dangerous than anything we’ve ever faced, who might have caused the worst. Three people stood against them. Three foreigners who protected us without ever asking for anything in return, and who were gone as soon as their task was over.” She looked sadly at Anna, standing next to her, before continuing. “It has come to our knowledge that one of them fell a while ago. He did a lot for Arendelle, more than you could ever imagine. In honour of his bravery, and with the hope that our own valiant guards will aspire to become as strong as he was, I hereby would like to present you the brand new guard uniforms. May you all remember that a guard duty is to help and protect, without expecting anything in return. May you all be able to help one another, out of kindness, to build a better world, the way he did. We are wearing our colours as a sign of love for our country. But from now on, we shall wear his colours as well, to never forget that we shall all aim to become the best version of ourselves. Thank you.”

And from that day forwards, every guard in the town wore a brand new uniform, very similar to the old one, but for one detail: the once black collar of their coats had now been replaced by a red and black plaid fabric, and the round buttons were now golden little crowns.

The colours of their saviour.


	6. Toy Box

“What do you mean, he’s gone? Of course he’s not! He’s right there!”

Woody sighed, pacing in Andy’s room. Rex wasn’t making things easy. If anything, he was making them harder.

“No, Rex. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about this one… I’m talking about the  _ real _ one, you understand?”

“But he’s real! Remember when you said he wasn’t and then they showed up? They proved they were real, didn’t they?”

“Rex. Please. I’m not talking about Yozona, or whatever his name was-”

“-Yozora.”

“Yes. Yozora. I’m talking about Sora. The Sora who visited us, and who helped us fighting all these toys. Not that digital hero that doesn’t even look like him.”

But Rex wasn’t listening anymore. “I did it! I beat Bahamut on Critical!”

“Can you please listen to me? I’m telling you he’s gone! Vanished! We won’t see him again!”

“Oh, I’m listening, and I think you’re wrong! No, I know you’re wrong! We are toys, Woody, but he’s different. He cannot be gone. He will never be gone. Even if there’s a game over, we can still continue. We can still restart the game. So I won’t believe you. Yozora is right there. He is strong, he defeated every enemy he fought and solved every issue he met. All we have to do is press Restart. Yozora is right there. A game over is not absolute. He’s right there.”

His head down, Woody finally gave up. Because he understood what Rex meant. He understood that it wasn’t he didn’t get his words ; he just had faith in Sora. Climbing back into the toy box, the cowboy closed his eyes. Maybe Rex was the one who was right. All it took was a little bit of faith. 


	7. San Fransokyo

“Huh? Yeah, the little red light is flashing, what does it mean? Aaah, it’s recording already? I’m not ready! Uh, okay, let’s go then! This video aims to help Baymax learn a new set of moves to fight heartless. I’m Sora and I will be your teacher today. Watch carefully!”

The boy on screen grinned at the camera before stepping back. Virtual creatures appeared around him and he summoned his weapon.

“No magic, I only need to smash them, right? Okay, here we go!”

The flow of his moves was flawless. He looked like he was dancing, waltzing with the creatures who disappeared in virtual clouds of darkness. No matter how many they were, he never looked tired or overwhelmed. He just kept slashing them relentlessly, until there were no more.

“That’s it for take one! What you need to remember is that they can melt into the floor and appear behind you. Make sure to watch your back!” He chuckled one more time, before the screen went dark, reflecting the pale figure of a young boy instead.

“My sensors detect a high level of stress. On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”

“I’m fine, Baymax.” The boy sighed. His eyes were injected with blood and circled with black, and the cup of coffee in front of him had long gone cold.

“You have not been asleep for the last…  _ 46 _ … hours. It is strongly recommended that you-”

“I’m fine, Baymax,” the boy repeated, interrupting the robotic voice of his assistant. “Who sent you here anyway?”

“We did,” a soft voice replied. Honey Lemon stepped inside the room. Despite the  _ we _ , she was alone. She smiled at Hiro, but it didn’t reach her eyes as she walked closer to him.

“We haven’t seen you in days, and we are concerned. I’m aware this is a hard time for all of us, for you even more. But I want you to remember you are not alone. We’re here, Hiro. Talk to us.”

“For the last time, I am fine. I’m just working on a way to upgrade Baymax, in case more monsters show up. And I can’t work if I’m constantly bugged by people.”

“Okay. All right. We’re having a pizza tonight, and we would like you to join, though. Everyone deserves a break… Even you.”

“Alright. Whatever.”

She looked sad and hurt by his words, but she left. He couldn’t afford to feel guilty. He had no room for guilt anymore.

“So...ra.” He froze, looking at Baymax.

“What did you say?”

“Sora.” He pointed at the CD case on the desk. Hiro had labelled the box as “Sora”, for it was all seven videos Sora and him recorded for training purposes. “Where is Sora?”

The boy gritted his teeth. “He’s with Tadashi. I’m sure they’re having fun together.”

“Tadashi is here.” The pneumatic robot tapped his chest. A tear rolled down Hiro’s cheek.

“Yeah, he is. He’s right there. And Sora’s there too.” He shook his head, putting his hand on his heart. “Sora is right there.”

He pressed the space bar on his keyboard, and the screen lit up to a familiar face.

_ “Huh? Yeah, the little red light is flashing, what does it mean? …” _


	8. Port Royal

The sky was very dark, that day. Not that it was a stormy day, or that it was night time already. It was a very fine, bright and sunny afternoon, and yet the Port Royal skies were wearing black.

“We need more fire, mates! Is that supposed to be a cute bonfire? Maybe you only wish to get yer fish grilled? I want the flames to touch the sky!”

There was no way such a thing could happen, but the Captain Jack Sparrow was too drunk to listen to reason. So his crew threw more things into the fire to keep it alive, and the flames ate it all.

The Leviathan was a nice ship. It had survived many battles. It had been greatly improved in time, and was now almost as good as the Black Pearl, so when Jack had ordered to burn it, everyone was surprised - but nothing they said could change his mind.

“This ship had a Captain, and only one. Now that her Captain is gone, don’t you think it’s fair to send her back to him? Wherever he is now, he can’t go anywhere without a good ship.”

Some said that the disappearance of Will Turner finally drove him mad. Some said it was only the rum. But very few knew that Jack once had a crewmate, a friend, and a fellow Captain, who ignored everything about piracy and dreamt of being a pirate himself ; who thought it only meant sailing the seas and looking for treasures while singing songs ; who had a heart stronger than anyone else Jack ever met. He was one of the very few people Jack Sparrow truly respected.

The Leviathan was burning, vanishing from this world the same way Sora had, and the Captain of the Black Pearl rose his bottle of rum to the flames, a smile on his lips, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear him sing.

_ Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a pirate’s life for you... _


	9. Keyblade Graveyard

The Keyblade Graveyard. The fated land where many lives were taken, centuries ago. A place for the dead, not the living, which had been guarded by various guardians through time.

There was once half of a whole who protected its right to exist.

There was once a dented armour who protected whatever honour it had left.

There was once a creature who protected the memories of friends .

This place wasn’t made for people with a beating heart. It was for those who had fallen to the Darkness, right into Oblivion.

It was a graveyard, and as such, it was filled with sadness, with pain, and with death. Thousands of weapons, old, rusty, each one unique, marked the grave of thousands of lost lives, misguided children who fought a war they shouldn’t have, a war of greed, power and jealousy. In the middle of these weapons stood a peculiar building, walls of an ancient time, their colours long gone, stone walls building a maze from where no one should escape. The maze was now empty, but there were obvious signs of recent battles, crumpling whatever was left to more dust. There was no sign of life around, as it should be in a graveyard, and everything still felt like relics from long ago, if not for one single item in the middle of this maze.

It was a keyblade, or at least the mockup of one, a copy made of carved wood, painted by hand, the yellow of its handle making it hard to miss in in this desert of ochre. Its chain was a delicate braid of silver threads, from which hung the keychain : a soft pink wayfinder made with thalassa shells. A lucky charm that held a promise, that looked so fragile, and yet that would never break.

The fake weapon was circled with flowers, all type of them, enchanted so that they would never wilt, and as days went by, more and more flowers were brought, until this became a tiny flowerfield in the middle of a desert.

This memorial was completed by a silver plate, engraved with a delicate handwriting.

_ Your light will never go out. _

And the rumours said that the spirit of the fallen keyblade wielders protected the grave of their little brother, the last one to fall on this fated land.


	10. Final World

It was such a beautiful world. It was the last place you’d see before dying, and it was so peaceful, so quiet. Many souls wandered here, refusing to leave for whatever was after, and it was pretty understandable. Time had no meaning here, and they floated aimlessly, ignoring one another after an eternity spent together. There was only this one soul floating around, a tiny star still shining bright, a newcomer, who greeted everyone, stopped by to listen to their story, and the other souls slowly got used him, even enjoying his cheerfulness. It seemed he was looking for someone, but this place was so big he couldn’t find the right one. He was new, but he was also a nice breeze of fresh air, and soon enough, everyone helped. Souls whispered to one another, trying to find who he could be looking for ; and, then, one day, they found her and guided her to him.

“You came back!” They had no physical enveloppe anymore, but it was easy to hear the happiness in her life.

“Yeah, and it looks like I’m staying this time,” he answered with the same joy, sounding as if he laughed.

“I guess I’m sorry to hear this?”

“There’s no need to. I did what I had to, I protected my friends, and I saved someone who matters a lot to me. I’m fine with losing my life if that means they all can be fine, you know.”

“You are not.”

“Excuse me?” He sounded surprised, and his light flickered for a second. “Of course I am. I saved the worlds from destruction. I saved my friends from losing their lives. I saved people from the terrible fate they had met. I helped people get their hearts back. I think I lived a life I can be proud of. Why would say that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Her voice was loud and clear, and he realised every other sould had gone totally silent. Listening. “Don’t you know where you are? This place is for the people who cannot just let go. For the people who have unfinished business in the world of living. Mine is finding that person I’m waiting for. I won’t go without him. What is yours? What is holding you back?”

He didn’t answer. His light flickered more and more. “I can’t see your face, but you are crying, aren’t you?”

“I… I want to see them again. I saved my friends, but I can’t even be with them. It’s unfair. I want to be with them. I want to laugh with them. I want to have fun with them. I want to get to know them more. I made so many promises I want to keep. I even made one to you! I don’t want to let you down. I… I just don’t want to die, not now, and I know it is selfish, but I can’t…”

His voice broke into what could be a sob, and, as a response all the souls around started to shine brighter, warmer, as if to comfort him.

“Don’t worry about that. We’re all here because we’re selfish, and we believe we shouldn’t die. And I really believe that one day, we will all find a way out from here, whether we are given a second chance, or finally accept our fate. But until then, maybe we can stay together? You are not alone here. We can be friends. So don’t be sad, please. You will see your friends again, I know it.”

For a while, he didn’t answer, but his light grew steady again. And when he talked, his voice didn’t sound that sad anymore. “You are right. We are friends. I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell, and so do I, so there’s no reason to be sad! We’ll be staying together, and once we get our second chance, we’ll find each other again, okay?”

“Of course. That’s what friends do. They are here for each other.”

He floated closer to her, and they huddled together, all the other souls around circling them, protecting them.

They weren’t a group of strangers. They were friends, and they shared their dreams, their hopes, and their light. As friends did.


	11. Destiny

“I knew I’d find you snoozing here, you lazy bum!”

Riku slowly opened his eyes, Kairi’s face right above his. She was smiling at him, and he smiled back, still a bit sleepy. “Your dad was looking for you. Said dinner was ready. I’m invited, by the way.”

“Dinner? But… what time is it…?”

It was only then that he realised the sun was getting low in the sky. The afternoon was over. He sat up, shaking the sand out of his tied up hair.

“So how is it going so far?” She smiled and sat next to him, their arms touching. He once would have been disturbed by being  _ this _ close, but a lot of things had changed since then.

“I think it will be ready by next week, if we’re lucky.” She looked at his hands and frowned, taking one of them in hers, inspecting it. “You hurt yourself.”

“It’s nothing. A few cuts, splinters, and the hammer landed on my finger here. Nothing serious. I’ve had worse in my life.” He winked at her and she laughed, letting his hand go.

“Make sure you tend to these once you’re home, though. Can’t afford these cuts to get infected.”

“Will do. It would be a shame to lose the captain of that ship, wouldn’t it? Do you want to see it?”

“Of course! Race ya?”

Knowing he was faster anyway, Kairi jumped to her feet, outdistancing him as much as she could. He let her win, but he had to acknowledge she had gotten much faster than he remembered - her training with Merlin did wonders. She was panting by the raft when he joined her, and she smirked at him.

“I know you let me win, but I still won. Deal with it. I get to name it, then don’t I?”

“I’m afraid you can’t. It’s got a name already. And it’s Excalibur.”

Kairi took a step back, looking at the wooden raft. It was magnificent. It was bigger than the one they built when they were younger, and probably safer too. Riku yawned, nodding off.

“You’ve been working on this nonstop from sunrise to sunset for weeks. Take a few days off.”

“It’s okay. I took a nap.”

“That I noticed. A nap in plain sun. You need some real rest. That ship won’t go anywhere without you anyway.”

He chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’ll stay at home tomorrow. What about you? Found any idea?”

They were slowly taking the road back to home. She shook her head. “Finding the right words isn’t easy. It took me a while last time as well. There’s so much I want to say… So much he needs to know. It reached you guys last time. I know it will reach him this time too.”

As he rowed the boat to bring them home, they looked at their fiery raft on their island. Their adventures started with a raft, and soon, they will go on a trip with it, letting destiny guide them. They once found their way home thanks to a letter, and soon, Kairi would toss another bottle into the sea, letting destiny deliver her message.

Destiny always brought them back home before.

It would do it once again.


	12. Wayfinder

“And that’s all of them for today,” Ven said as he crashed on the couch.

“Thank you. Good job.” Aqua put down a glass of water on the table and ruffled his hair. “That makes fifteen of them. I’ve made a few more, but I’ll deliver these myself tomorrow.”

“Is Terra back?”

“He shouldn't be too long. He said he wanted to say hi to Cinderella while he was at it. I think I will pay her a visit tomorrow as well. I hope she’s doing well.”

Ventus grinned at her and she smiled back, sitting next to him. “I hope this will work…”

“Of course it will. It worked before, didn’t it?” 

Her face lit up, and Ven’s smile grew brighter as they both turned around to greet the newcomer. “Terra, welcome back! How did it go?”

“Everything’s good. All three wayfinders are in place. And stop doubting, I know it will work.” He poked Aqua’s forehead with a smile, and she relaxed.

“I guess you’re right. It’s just so… so frustrating. I hate sitting there and not being able to do anything concrete.”

“But you are. We all are. You made all these wayfinders, and we are scattering them across the worlds so that their light can guide Sora back. Don’t belittle your work, Aqua. Your idea might be Sora’s salvation.” Ven gently smiled, and she took their hands in hers.

“He brought us back. He saved everyone of us. And maybe this time…  No, this time, we will definitely help him find his way home.”

She looked at her own wayfinder, its blue glass shining in her hand. The ones she was making for Sora were a light gold, catching the sunlight easily. These would act as beacons to guide him back.

“So where are you delivering the next ones?”

“Well, there’s one for Arendelle, one for Wonderland, and since I promised someone I’d visit him in Olympus, I’ll bring one with me there as well. Oh, and of course Twilight Town, Lea asked me if I could make some for them, would you mind giving them next time, Ven?”

Ven happily nodded.

Terra sat next to them, and they started chatting about random things, filling the castle with laughters. Finally saying goodbye to their Master had been rough for all of them. Losing Sora hurt just as much. While they really believed the Wayfinders could be a solution, it was mostly a way to keep them busy, to stop thinking too much. They visited all friends, spent a lot of time together, did their best not to stay alone for too long. Mourning was a slow process.

Aqua shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. She would visit Cinderella, play with Alice, and finally keep her promise to Zack and spend some time with him.

There was no room for being sad in her schedule.


	13. Sea Salt

These used to be his favourites. The first time he heard about them, he winced, unconvinced. Seasalt? In an ice cream? Why not broccoli, or nuggets, while they were at it? And why were they  _ blue _ ? He couldn’t think of a single food that was naturally blue like that, and appetizing. It took him weeks to finally give them a chance.

Sweet… but salty, too. The shopkeeper told him that she would give him his munny back if he didn’t like it, and he accepted to try only because she insisted. He did not regret, and soon, it became his favourite treat, getting one at the end of troublesome missions for the Organization, getting some well deserving rest at the top of the clocktower, up where no one could see him, watching the sun set.

After years, it became another symbol. The promise of meeting his friends the next day as well, sharing yet another ice cream, getting brain freeze while laughing and chatting. They might not have a heart, but this ice cream was now how happiness tasted like.

It kept on evolving, becoming a treat he’d share after training. The loser of the day treating the winner. It became another promise, a dream, the hope of becoming better soon, of being good enough to become a Master, of being  strong enough to bring his friends back. Every ice cream he ate by then reminded him that soon, he would be able to share some more with then, and that left a sweet taste on his tongue.

Did they change the recipe? He had done everything he ever hoped for. He was back on the clocktower. His childhood friend was here. All of his best friends surrounded him. He was stronger, he was better, he knew he was a good person and he had been given forgiveness for his past actions. Did they change the recipe? The ice creams used to be sweet, but salty too. But even though he had done everything he ever hoped for, they tasted of sacrifice, they tasted of loss, they tasted of grief.

Did they change the recipe? Nowadays, the sweetness was gone, and all he could taste on his tongue was the unpleasant taste of salt.


	14. Selfie

**Click**

“Spending the day in Corona #training #AxelAlmostDrowned #FutureMaster #IWonTheFight”

“Hey, Kairi, I can hear you.”

“I know, that’s why I’m reading out loud.”

“And you just had to take that picture of me drowning instead of helping me?”

“That’s what you get for challenging an islander to a dive bomb competition.”

He groaned and she laughed. To keep on training, Master Yen Sid sent them practice on these battle gates that appeared across the worlds, and Kairi and Lea usually did a bit of tourism while they were at it. Riku had insisted Ienzo provided them some Gummiphones, ‘and call if anything’s wrong and I’ll be there in a second’. The only feature the two apprentices used was the camera. Axel sometimes played a bit of the games preinstalled, but Kairi had no patience for them.

At every new place they visited, the two of them took plenty of pictures, including the silliest selfies they could think of. A selfie with the Demon Tower rushing at them. A selfie while standing on the top of the ice castle (Axel used the #darwinawards and the #picturetakensecondsbeforedying when he posted it, and almost fell for real). A selfie with as many people as they could. They even started looking for Lucky Emblems,  trying to see who’d find more ; to this day, Kairi was winning.

Riku sometimes got a bit angry at them when he saw the pictures they posted, for “putting themselves in danger”, for “being completely irresponsible”, and for “not wanting to lose any more friends”. When he said that last thing, Kairi usually took his hand, smiled and said he would never lose her. “I’m right here, Riku. I’m not going anywhere.” before Axel added something like “Trust me I tried to lose her a couple of times in the forest and she always found her way to the ship” that earned him a few murderous glares.

But there was a reason they were doing all of this. Something different than just having fun, taking silly pictures. Something Riku understood, and couldn’t blame them for.

Axel and Kairi were helpless. They knew there was nothing they could do to bring Sora back, not until Master Yen Sid found some clue on how to do such a thing, and waiting and believing were the only two things they could do. So when Kairi pointed out that when Sora disappeared, his gummiphone vanished with him, she started to have the stupid hope that maybe, wherever he was, he could still use it. That maybe he could still see the pictures they were posting, see they were alright, see he succeeded in saving the worlds. She hoped that he would laugh at their silly pictures. That he would do everything to come back and take some more with them.

All they could hope for was that their pictures would reach him.


	15. Lucky Emblems

“How about here? Too obvious?”

“I don’t know… If they’re too well hidden, people won’t be able to find them.”

“Oh, how about this wall, then? You can only see it if you come from this way, but if you do, it’s not that hard to see.”

“Gawrsh, that’s a brilliant idea, Donald. Here, give me a sticker!”

No matter where they went, no one really paid attention to them, leaving them enough room to set things up. Nobody really knew who Donald and Goofy were, where they came from ; strangely enough, no one questioned their appearance either. Everyone knew the Royal guards, and they knew they had helped and saved them before, and it was all the people cared about.

A few months ago, a game surfaced, the rules being the same across the worlds even though no world was aware of the existence of others : all you had to do was to find three circles shapes forming what was said to be a mouse head. There was nothing to win from this, and yet, children and adults kept on looking for them, creating new ones, having fun.

But as the trend was slowly dying, the rumours had it a whole new version of the game was about to begin. In all kind of places, designed to resist the most extreme weather, and yet to stay respectful of the environment, some very strange stickers were appearing. They took the shape of a key, and if you touched them, the face of a boy would appear to your mind, most of the time a very cheerful boy with big blue eyes and spiky brown hair, but occasionally a devious little vampire, or a fluffy grey monster would show up. That was all there was to it. Every sticker allowed you to see this boy’s face, and even though almost no one really knew who he was, people would look for them, curious to know more about him.

“This should do it for this world,” Donald said, looking at the sticker he just added on the wall. “Our next stop is Atlantica! I hope Chip and Dale didn’t lie when they said it could stick underwater!”

“Only one way to find out! Let’s spread some more Lucky Emblems all over the worlds!”

“Not so loud! Think about the world order!”

The strange duo left the gloomy lands of Halloween Town, hurrying to their ship. All they left behind was a golden key stickers, which, if you looked carefully, were engraved with a delicate handwriting. ‘ _ Gone, but not forgotten’ _


	16. Reunion

It still felt incredibly weird for him every morning. He woke up in a house he barely knew, was welcomed in the kitchen by a grin and a hot cup of coffee, and had a lot of free time. This was so different than what he used to.

“Come on, Isa, stop looking so gloomy!” This was almost Lea’s  _ Good Morning _ , as it was the thing he’d tell him every morning. And yet, Isa couldn’t stop looking so gloomy, no matter how hard he tried.

The thing was, guilt was eating him from the inside. And there was nothing Lea could say or do that could change this.

They were sharing a house in Twilight Town, because none of them dared going back to their old houses in Radiant Garden, the town they left behind, the town they destroyed.

They were spending most of their time with Roxas and Xion. And while everyone was doing their best, it was obvious the two teenagers couldn’t forget how he treated them, and he couldn’t blame them for that.

Finally being able to walk by Lea’s side again was incredible. Even when he didn’t have a heart, he was jealous of those standing next to his friend, because he couldn’t anymore. It felt like they were meeting again after years of not seeing each other, a long awaited reunion, the duo back together again.

_ The duo. _

Even that triggered more guilt. They weren’t supposed to  be a duo.  _ She _ had been the missing piece, and because they left her behind, because she disappeared and they never found her, because she probably got hurt when the town was swallowed by Darkness, they weren’t a trio anymore, but just a duo, like they used to be before they met her.

Guilt was a painful thing to live with. Wherever he looked, guilt rushed in. All these lives that could have been saved. All these worlds that had been destroyed.

Every morning, before the coffee, before the grin, even before opening his eyes, he was welcomed by the same nightmare, over and over.

There was this boy, a teenager Isa didn’t know in the dream. The boy was on his knees, crying. And he kept repeating the same thing :  _ It’s all your fault _ . Everytime he said it, a world fell to chaos. Every word was another life taken. Every sob was a light vanishing.

And then, at the end of the dream, the boy would look at Isa straight into the eyes, and suddenly Isa would recognize him.

_ You didn’t stop him. You are responsible for their deaths. And you are responsible for mine. _

On these words, Sora would vanish, and Isa would wake up.

And guilt would still be there.


	17. Brothers

For anyone who didn’t know them, they looked like brothers. Twins, even. They shared the same round face, the same blue eyes, the same spiky blonde hair ; even their outfits looked similar. If you looked carefully, there was something in their eyes that made it easier to tell them apart - one had that spark of youth, and yet looked like he had lost his faith in mankind, while the other had the wise eyes of an old person who still had so much to discover. But of course, no one would spend so much time looking at them to be able to tell that from their eyes.

They were sharing an ice cream while watching the movie that was being screened in Twilight Town. They had been silent for the whole movie, only laughters or gasps breaking their silence, and when the credits rolled, they didn’t move.

“I’m sure Sora would have loved this one,” Roxas finally said, long after the screen went dark. “At least, I think he would. It’s not like… I wish I knew him better.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ven sighed, looking at his ice cream stick. “No luck today either, huh?” he added as he noticed this wasn’t a winning stick.

Silence fell again. Despite looking alike, their lives had almost nothing in common - the only common factor was Sora, and Sora was no more.

“You know… I keep thinking about what Vanitas said. He called us brothers…. and he said Sora was our brother too. I suppose that makes you the fourth brother of this family, Roxas.”

“A… brother?” The boy looked at Ventus. “I’ve never had a family before. What does a brother do?” This took Ventus by surprise, and he took a while to think about it.

“I’ve never had real siblings before, but if I consider Terra and Aqua as my family… I’d say a brother is someone you have fun with, someone you tease, and sometimes you even get angry and fight ; but in the end, you still care about each other and you’ll always be here to help.”

“So it’s like best friends, then?”

“I guess so,” Ventus chuckled. “Yeah, definitely. It’s just another word for best friends.”

“Then I’d be honoured to be your brother. And Sora’s. Must be nice, having a family.”

“It sure is.”

Silence fell again, but not for long this time. “Hey, Ventus?”

“Yeah?”

“You said Vanitas called you brother, didn’t you? Did you have fun together? Tease each other? I know you fought, but do you even care about each other?”

“I… I’m not sure I know how to explain this, but let me try. Vanitas is a part of me… Just as much as I’m a part of him. I don’t know much about him, and we never spent time together, the only times we met, we fought, and yet… That day in the Land of Departure, when I woke up and he was here, I was still relieved to see he was okay. Well, angry too because he tried to hurt Aqua, but that’s not my point. And despite all that he did, did you know that Sora tried to convince him to join us?”

“He did?” Roxas laughed. “I’m not even surprised.”

“Vanitas refused, but our hearts are connected. I can feel what he feels. He hates us, and he doesn’t want to be with us, but he’s also lonely, sad and desperate. His Unversed are the proof of his suffering. So yeah, we don’t really get along, but I don’t mind thinking of him as a brother. I’m sure Sora doesn’t either. Is it weird that I wish all four of us could share an ice cream someday?”

“I don’t know. I think Sora would love that too. And  _ I _ would never say no to an ice cream… Maybe someday we will bring them both back and be able to quietly enjoy this together. But until then, it’s only the two of us… Right, big bro?”

Nothing in this world could have made Ven happier : being the big brother for once, and the perspective to share an ice cream with all his somewhat siblings. He just couldn’t wait.


	18. Trinity

All good things came in threes. That was how it always had been. That was how every world worked. The last occurence of this not being true was from the age of fairytales, but nowadays the holy trinity was the norm. Just like primary colours, One couldn’t go without Two and definitely not without Three. It was a fact known and accepted by everyone. Teams were often made of three people, whether they did it knowingly or not.Three was the lucky number.

In the Land of Departure, three teenagers worked hard to become Masters. At the same time, in Radiant Garden, three youngsters shared a deep bond, a promise all three of them would be happy someday. Three.

Later on, the warm sun of Destiny Island watched three kids grow up, fate trying to tear them apart but always putting them back together. In Twilight town, three teens enjoyed their summer vacations, while three people in a black coat looked at them, enjoying any happy day they had. Three.

Disney Town had a King with two very loyal servants, and all three of them had fought many battles together under the name Musketeers. These two servants, a knight and a magician, moved from this trio to fight with a child wielding a key, all three of them exploring worlds and saving the Light for years. Three.

Three was just a natural number. It was how things were. The three good fairies, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, the three little pigs even, no matter where you looked, you could see that three was how things should be. Three.

And this was a truth some of them would rather forget. A couple who would never put a third plate on the table anymore. Friends who would never fight for the middle seat in the theatre. Guards who would watch the empty seat on the gummi ship with sad eyes. Two.

The balance had been broken. Three was whole, Two was missing. Three without One was lonely, broken.

All good things came in three, but fate had decided that Two they would be, and every One ached for their missing part. Dreaming of the day they would be able to be back together. Three.


	19. Ingredients

“Are you sure this is the best place, Kairi?”

“Of course, Riku!” She beamed at him. “This is a good spot to find some ingredients. You should know that!”

“It’s just… There’s so many people…”

“Oh, come on! Follow me!”

There was a huge market in Destiny’s Island once a week for the whole summer, and this was indeed the best place to buy the most exotic ingredients. Sellers came from everywhere, and now that both Kairi and Riku had visited different worlds, they suspected some of them might not just be coming from a ‘country far away’ as they always assumed. Fruits, vegetables, spices, every single one of your sense was almost blinded by the huge variety of products that looked amazing, smelled even better, and when you were allowed to taste some of them, it exploded in your mouth, being the best thing you ever had.

However, for once, Kairi wasn’t here for products from far away lands, whether they were these exquisite apples (that came from Radiant Garden’s orchards, she was now sure of is) or these juicy watermelons (tasting suspiciously like those in Port Royal) ; she was here for local products.

They spent the whole afternoon picking, weighing, scrutinizing every product on Kairi’s list until she was finally happy.

“Let’s run to the gummi now!” she cheered, and Riku quickly hushed her, worried about the world order that, as a Master, he now really had to respect. But it was hard not to smile when she was  _ that _ excited and he let go, taking her to the ship that was hidden in a deserted part of the island. He was still glad the camo shields worked so well or they still might get in trouble.

“Can I drive?”

“Of course you can’t.” She pouted before laughing, mumbling a  _ At least I tried _ . “Now buckle your belt, and we’re off!”

Teleportation was another great feature on the ship. Riku had heard Sora telling how it didn’t have it when he first used it, and how long the trips were back then - but now, in barely five minutes, you could leave your world and reach another one.

Twilight Town really was a nice world, and Riku liked coming here - but he was also nervous every time, because that meant the chances of meeting Roxas, and it was clear the teenager still wasn’t too fond of the young Master.

“Okay, Riku, now I need you to gather the whole crew! Find a table where we can all seat, and I’ll join you guys as soon as I can!” She ran away with the grocery bag, and he watched her go with a sigh. She wanted him to get Roxas.

When she reached the bistro, her eyes were sparkling as she greeted Scrooge, who nodded at her.

“Good evenin’, lassie! Why such a hurry?”

“I brought every thing we talked about! Is the Little Chef around?

“Of course he is! Where else would he be?” The tiny little rat appeared, and Kairi smiled at him. “Let’s get to it, then, shall we? Let’s try these new recipes!”

The recipes were her idea. She loved cooking with her parents in Destiny’s Island and she came up with two new recipe she badly wanted to try, and Scrooge had agreed to add them to his menu if they were good enough. The judges of that would be all the youngsters in Twilight Town - all of her friends.

They spent an hour cooking and getting everything ready, before being shooed out of the kitchens - it wasn’t her job to bring the meal to everyone, so she sat among them while the waiters were serving them.

“Kairi, this looks amazing!” Olette said, while Pence was already drooling on his plate, impatient to try it.

“You’re sure you’re the real Little Chef? From now on, you shall be called  _ Cheffe Kairi _ !” Lea teased, winking at her, and she giggle.

“Come on, it will get cold. Everyone, please try it!”

The menu was composed of two courses that were meant to please young people, or people with a sweet tooth.  One was a hot dog, made with a delicious sauce made with mayonnaise, garlic and paopu fruits. The taste was surprising at first, but the sweetness of the fruit went wonderfully with the caramelized onions. The second course was a dessert inspired by Twilight Town itself, a bright blue cream soda that tasted just like the local sea salt ice creams. The cream on top had a nice vanilla flavour, not too sweet, that perfectly balanced the salt from the drink, and it was sweet, but salty too, and especially really refreshing.

“So… What did you think of it?” Kairi asked once everyone was finished and every plate, every glass was almost clean. She personally enjoyed it, but she was a bit nervous.

“That was amazing, Kairi!” Roxas had some cream on his nose, and with his gigantic smile, he looked so much younger. Xion nodded, and even Isa smiled at her.

“It was very good. Thank you.”

She felt her face heat up as all of her friends complimented it. She kept telling them the Little Chef did most of it, but they wouldn’t hear any of this : she came up with the recipe.

“Well, I guess we’re keeping this special menu, then, aren’t we? Any idea what we should call it?”

She looked at Scrooge and nodded. “That’s an easy one. This menu is the Sora Special.”

And from the bottom of her heart, she hoped that one day, he’d get to taste it.


	20. Your Favourite Moment

This is a peculiar chapter, as it is one I did not write. It just wouldn't fit the theme. But I also don't want my 21st chapter to be the 20th here so here's a placeholder text, haha. As of right now this collection has 56 comments, and 19 kudos, and that's more than I'd ever expect - to be honest, I'm never quite expecting kudos or comments on my fics, I just post them because since they've been written, I want to do something of them, but without real expectations. So I'd like to thank you all who take some time to read, sometimes to leave a comment, because it means a lot to me, and you guys keep me going.  
This not chapter is an excellent occasion to thank you for being awesome. <3


	21. Realm of Darkness

There wasn’t a sign of life around. Nothing had changed ; everything was exactly the same, and she shivered.

“That’s not exactly what I imagined when I thought about our first date, I’ll give you that.” 

“We can still go back if you want. Someone else can come instead.”

Aqua sighed, walking closer to Terra. “No. This is important. I don’t really enjoy being back here, but we have to. And trust me, if someone knows the place, that’s me.”

It had taken a lot of negotiation for Master Yen Sid to allow them to return to the Realm of Darkness. It had been Aqua’s idea, and she was determined to come here, but she also felt relieved when Terra offered to join, because no one should ever be alone in there again. But now that they were here, exploring the place, there was a voice in her head begging to run away and return to the Realm of Light, and it took a lot of strength to ignore it.

“Tell me, then. What did you imagine for a first date?” Terra took her hand, and that simple gesture made the voice much, much lower. She smiled at him.

“First of all, a place where we could see the sun. And, I don’t know… Somewhere with people. We spent so long in our world, all four of us, and then I ended up alone for almost as long. Somewhere with music. Remember that the Master taught us how to dance? I think this could be a good occasion to see if we still remember.”

He squeezed her hand and stepped in front of her, looking at her with a bright smile. “What about this? As soon as we’re out of this place, we travel to the Castle of Dreams, and we ask for Cinderella to host a ball. There will be plenty of people, a lot of music, and we could dance until our feet hurt. Which might happen very quickly because I remember you stepping a lot on my-”

“That’s a lovely idea,” she interrupted him, blushing. “I’d love that. Yes, let’s do this. But before we do, we need to keep on inspecting this place. What if Sora ended up there? What if he’s alone and scared and we’re here talking about going to a ball rather than looking for him?”

Terra chuckled. “You’re right. Let’s keep looking.” He took a big breathe in and yelled : “SORA! IF YOU’RE AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE, WE’RE ON OUR WAY, SO WAIT FOR US, OKAY? WE WILL FIND YOU!” Aqua gasped and stared at him as he winked. Of course, his voice caught the attention of plenty of heartless who popped out of nowhere.

“Very well done, Terra. Were you sleeping on stealth lessons?”

“As a matter of fact,  _ you _ were. But it’s okay. Send as many heartless as you want, they won’t stop me. Care to guess why?”

“Now is not the best moment to-”

“Because I promised the prettiest woman I know I would take her to the ball and I am a man of his word.”

“What if we get stuck here?” she finally asked, listening to the terrified voice in her head ; but once again, he smiled at her and her worries melted away.

“Then we will just have a ball every single day until someone comes to save us. If we’re together, I’m not worried. I don’t need no sun, no people or no music. If you’re here with me, the Realm of Darkness is as good as anywhere else to be.”

She smiled back, summoning her keyblade. He was right. There was no point in being afraid. They would look for Sora, and they would get out of here. But no matter what they did, they did it together. And it was all that mattered. 


	22. Link

There was something off.

The Master didn’t call anymore.

The Master didn’t dream anymore.

It was as if the Master wasn’t here anymore.

They all patiently waited, hoping that one day they would be summoned again. The Meow Wow had learnt to bounce higher. He trained every day, impatient to show the Master how high he can go now, how strong he had become. Maybe the Master would come back with some treats? It had been a while since he had a Confetti Candy. He was hoping he’d get a rub on the belly. The Master did the best belly rubs, babbling words that made no sense as he did it, a huge smile on his face. A smile. At first, he thought the Master was showing all of his teeth as a threat, as other creatures did, but it seemed the Master bared his teeth when he was happy, and he called that a smile. Meow Wow loved when the Master smiled. He loved when the Master was happy. After all, is was his goal, as a Dream Eater, to ensure the Master had safe dreams and was happy. The happier the Master, the happier the Dream Eaters.

But it had been so long now. They wouldn’t visit his dreams, as if he wasn’t dreaming. They weren’t summoned, as if he forgot about them? Where was the Master? Was the Master okay? The Dream Eaters were worried about the Master. But they were helpless. All they could do was wait.

All Meow Wow could do was train to bounce even higher.

And hope the Master would be proud and rub his belly.


	23. New outfit

For a second, Riku thought he was hearing birds chirping, and it took him a while to understand it was actually Naminé and Kairi whispering and giggling. They were in Kairi’s house, and the girls were up to something, being all secretive for the whole afternoon. He was reading some books Aqua lent him about the age of Fairytale (although it was mostly legends and theories) and had not paid them much attention before, but they were starting to become loud and the book was getting boring. He yawned, stretched, and got up from his chair, checking what they were doing. But as soon as they saw him, they gasped and Naminé hid her sketchbook.

“No, you can’t look right now! It’s not done yet!”

“What is?”

“NOTHING!” Kairi squinted, glaring at him, trying to shoo him away. “We’re talking girls stuff. Just go away.”

“Girls stuff? Such as?” He smirked, wondering which one of them would give up first.

“Such as saying how nosy boys are and how they only seem to remember us when there’s no fighting involved. Leave now.”

“Ouch, touché,” he chuckled. “Show me and I’ll teach you more sword fighting.”

“You… you would?” She hesitated, and Naminé looked at them both. He had the feeling it was Kairi’s idea to keep whatever they were doing from him.

“Of course! It’s been a while since we last fought. I’m sure I could learn from you too.”

She pouted, weighing his words for a moment, before sighing. “Okay. Fine, we can show you, I guess. But don’t tell anyone just yet!”

Naminé put her sketchbook on the table, but before looking at it, Riku frowned. “It’s not some really weird drawings I wouldn’t want to see, now, is it?”

“Wh-” The girls blushed, Naminé in a cute, shy way, when Kairi just became as red as her hair. “Who do you think we are? What do you think I’d make Naminé draw?” But then she saw Riku’s smile, and, realising he was just fooling around, she burst into laughters. “Of course not. We would never draw anything inappropriate, right, Naminé?  _ Never _ .”

Riku felt it was best not to dig any further before he’d even regret asking. “Okay, show me that.”

It wasn’t a simple drawing, as he expected. Instead, it was a collection of a few shirts, jackets, trousers, and even accessories such as beanies or scarves. “What is this?”

“Kairi thought…” Naminé started, then stopped, shy. Riku smiled at her. She still wasn’t used to be the one talking, even though staying with Kairi helped her a lot. “She thought that maybe we could design some clothes for Sora. For when he comes back. The Three Good Fairies agreed to create whatever we designed.”

“Clothes?”

“Yeah!” Kairi chuckled. “He spent so little time on the Island after he came back for the first time that his dresser is full of his….  _ pre Xehanort _ clothes. Everything will be too small. And if he’s just like you, I’ll expect him to have grown up even more next time we see him! So we figured we could get him a whole set of new outfits, some for cold winters like those in Arendelle, some made for the heavy rain of Corona, and look! There’s even a swimsuit!”

“Kairi, when we travel to other worlds, we travel light - no pun intended,” he added as she snorted. “He’s not going to bring a whole suitcase of clothes”

“Then store them in the Gummi Ship! I’m working with Fairies, Riku.  _ Fairies _ . Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. I’m telling you Sora won’t go playing in the snow with an open, short-sleeved jacket, and you’re not stopping me.”

There was something in her eyes. In her voice. In the way Naminé was clutching her crayons. Something that made Riku understand it was more than just designing clothes. More than just girls having fun. More than protecting Sora from extreme weather.

It was a promise. Just like Sora’s parents kept on changing his bed sheets every week. They were making him new clothes so that he could wear them. It was the promise he would come back.

So he didn’t argue anymore about the insane amount of clothes they were designing. Instead, he helped by describing the weather in every world he ever visited.

In every world Sora would visit again.


	24. 7 Guardians

This was wrong. This was very, very wrong and they all knew it. Master Yen Sid could repeat as much as he wanted that this was  _ necessary _ , that this was  _ to protect the world order _ , that it was  _ how things should be _ , it was still wrong, because Sora wasn’t there.

Xehanort was no more, and the worlds were in relative peace, so why should there be seven guardians? His explanations were vague. All he said was that he saw in the stars that soon enough, a new storm would be coming, and that it had to do with a box. This wasn’t a sufficient answer to most of them, but there was nothing they could do.

Lea had asked how dangerous this would be. If more lives would be lost along the way. When he received no answer, he angrily grabbed Master Yen Sid by the collar of his robe, and no one even tried to stop him. Yen Sid said this shouldn’t be any more dangerous than what they’d already been through. Roxas snapped that last time they all died, and were only there thanks to Sora. Yen Sid didn’t answer to that.

The truth was, none of them was ready to become a guardian again, and none of them would refuse that role either. They were cut for action, and staying put was driving them crazy. They didn’t care about dying. But they didn’t want their loved ones to go.

This was why Lea was the angriest of them. Yen Sid had appointed seven guardians of Light.

Aqua. Terra. Ventus. Riku. Kairi. Xion. Roxas.

Not Lea. Never Lea. Was it because he worked for the Organization for so long? Was it because he spent almost half of his life without a heart? Was it because the old Master didn’t trust him? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Yen Sid had put a death sentence on all of his friends, and not him, and one day they might have to leave and fight in the name of Light for a stupid box no one ever heard about, and he would learn that there would never be any more chatting with Aqua. No more arm wrestling against Terra. No more races against Ven. No more bickering with Riku. No more training with Kairi. No more ice cream with Xion. No more fooling around with Roxas. No more Xion. No more Roxas.

All of this because a retired old man said so.

This was wrong, this was so wrong, and they were all aware of it, but he was the only one who spoke up about it. He didn’t want to lose them. Any of them.

“You’re going to let them die, just like you let Sora die, aren’t you?”

He knew his words hurt Yen Sid. He knew his words hurt them all. He knew he hurt Kairi, and she made sure he would know it, but the burn from the slap she gave him was nothing compared to the hurt he felt by his own words. By the truth.

There used to be Seven Guardians, until one fell. But they were just tools in a war. Any broken tool would be replaced. It was that simple.

Sora was dead and someone took his place.

Until another one would die. And another one.

This was very wrong, and they all knew it.

This was very wrong, but they didn’t stop it.


	25. Thirteen Darknesses

The second one woke up a year ago, and stared blankly at his ceiling for a while. It had been one kind of a dream, one escaping his mind as he tried to think about it. He couldn’t quite remember the dream, but there was one thing certain from it: he had to find the Key.

The third one woke up two years ago, and thought about how foolish that dream had been. He shouldn’t be looking to make amends. He shouldn’t care about this. He was just the ghost of who he used to be anyway. He had yet to reach his goal: Kingdom Hearts.

The fourth one woke up even earlier than that, a smile on his lips. What an unusual dream. Was this some kind of warning? It was just a dream, nothing real. He was made for great things, and they wouldn’t fail.

The fifth one woke up an hour later, and there was something savage in his eyes. He had almost just died, and never before had he felt so alive. It had cost him a lot, but he had brought him even more. After a century of boredom, he finally remembered what it felt like to be alive.

The sixth one woke up shaking. The dream was still in his mind, but the nightmare was over. His heart hurt, and guilt crushed his chest, but having a heart ache felt nice. Having a heart felt nice.

The seventh one woke up a decade ago, curled into a ball. He felt sick. Belonging somewhere? Having friends? That sounded horrible. His worst nightmare. Creatures were born from his anger, his fear, his disgust. He didn’t need friends. He couldn’t have friends. He didn’t deserve friends. And he hated that spark of hope born from that dumb dream.

The eighth one woke up in a familiar place. He got up, stretched, and got himself a glass of a nice amber drink. He was in a fairly good mood, and took a deck of cards from his pocket. He had promised someone a game, and he’d better make sure to practise his shuffling.

The ninth one woke up by the tenth one’s side. They looked at each other sadly, remembering all that had happened. All that they had done. They took each other’s hand, and sat close to each other. At least, they were together.

The eleventh one woke up with doubts. He didn’t need that dream. His goal was righteous. He had been betrayed, abandoned by his friend. This was a stupid dream from his conscience, and he had no need for it. He would save Kairi, because he was the only one who cared about her.

The twelfth one returned to his original shape, and it felt really good. He didn’t miss the silver hair or the golden eyes. He was now completely in control. He was himself.  He relaxed. He was back.

The thirteenth one teared up. This was over. Everything was over. She was back, she wouldn’t go anywhere. She had arms to run into. She had people she belonged with. She was no longer in the dark. She had a beating heart. She wasn’t a puppet anymore.

The first one never woke up. The first one had tried, over and over, to restore a true balance, to start everything over ; but he finally had accepted to let go. He finally had joined his oldest friend and let the fate of the world to the younger generations. He would never wake up again. And it was fine with him.

All Thirteen Seekers of Darkness woke up with the memory of what happened that day, in the Graveyard. The day they stopped being Seekers. The day someone freed them.

And no matter whether they woke up in the past or in the present, deep inside, they all knew the freedom came or would come from one person. Someone they owed.

Sora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the bravest of you guys, you can try to find out which Seeker is which ;)


	26. Lost Leaders

No matter how you thought about it, the irony was pretty strong. They were supposed to be guides. Everyone had looked up to them. People had felt safe with them. All they had to do was smile, say that everything was going to be okay, and people trusted them, followed them.

This was not what they had expected. They brought everyone to a land with no war, they brought everyone to safety. But what about them? Who cared about their safety? Just how much more pain should they go through?

Brain had vanished. No one knew what happened of him. No one knew if he was safe somewhere. He had guided a few Dandelions, taking them with him ; none ever came back.

Ventus thought he had found shelter by the side of a man who said he was a Keyblade Master. Ven had no memory of his past life, no memory of ever being a Dandelion nor a Leader, but he remembered the Keyblade and he knew that he could trust someone with such a weapon. He had been wrong. He had no recollection of his past, but his present was made of pain and suffering.

Lauriam was blinded by revenge. He was now certain someone took his little sister’s life. He had no name, but he didn’t mind. He needed power. He needed to be strong. The only thing that ever kept him sane was Elrena by his side, but just like him, she was ready to do anything to avenge her friends. Even casting away her heart if needed.

Ephemer was waiting. He was sad, and angry. That was all he could feel. Why was he sad? He didn’t know. Why was he angry? He didn’t care. He was waiting on the land his friends passed away, and he was barely alive himself. He just waited for someone to end his agony.

And Skuld… Skuld couldn’t remember her name. Skuld remembered how to breathe and that was already an achievement. She spent her days curled in a ball inside her cell, crying and yelling. The only highlight of her weeks was when these two boys sneaked in to visit. They made the pain bearable. But the pain was still there.

The irony was strong. They left a world in war. They ran away to survive, and living was somehow even worse. They had been able to feel the strong light of a boy who might be able to save them. They had placed their hopes in him. He would save them. He would stop their pain.

And then, one day, his light was gone, and all they had left was their pain.


	27. Foretellers

“So you’re really him… Luxu. You have changed a lot.”

The man snorted. “Gotta adapt to survive, Aced. That’s how it works for most of us!”

A younger man, almost still a boy, smirked under his Leopard mask. “Sure worked a lot for you. Nice eyepatch, is it an avatar part you collected in a mission?”

“Not like it matters, I’ll cast away that body one day, like I did with all the other ones anyway, so who cares about a few scratches on it?”

“Could we please focus on what’s important?” The woman in a snake mask snapped. She had remained quiet for the whole time, listening Luxu tell his story, but she couldn’t wait anymore. He laughed.

“Wow, how rude, Invi. So my well being isn’t important?”

“I think what Invi means,” the man wearing the Unicorn mask said as he put a hand on Invi’s shoulder, “is that another Keyblade War almost happened, and you did nothing to stop it. If anything, you actively helped in the making of the X-Blade. You put yourself on the side of Darkness on purpose. Is that correct, Luxu?”

“Bingo! You got this right. Congrats, you listened very carefully to my story, Ira.” He clapped. “That’s more than half of you guys because I’m sure I lost Gula and Aced somewhere along the way.”

“Do you think this is funny? Do you think this whole thing is a game?” Invi didn’t even try to hide her anger. She who was usually so calm was losing it, and her voice was shaking. “Don’t you remember how many people we lost in the first war? Don’t you remember this lead to the end of our world? How could you watch and not do anything? Xehanort was your apprentice, wasn’t he? Why did you let him follow the road of Darkness? Why would you let more people dying?”

Luxu shrugged in his black coat. He didn’t look sorry at all. “Because that was my role, bestowed by the Master himself. My role was to observe, not act. You should know how it feels, Invi. I’m not the only little spy around.”

“But that’s unfair! My role was to make sure no one went astray. You can’t tell me your role was to watch people die!”

“To be fair, I had two students. One of them chose the path of Light, only Xehanort followed the one of Darkness. I’d say I preserved the balance with my teachings ; what they did of it is their problem, not ours.”

“But this world… These worlds.” Gula looked around him. “The people around here are there thanks to Ava’s Dandelions. Watching another war unfold, watching these people die, watching the Dandelions vanish, wouldn’t that go against the Master’s order? He believed the Dandelions to be important, so you should have protected them, Luxu.”

Once again, Luxu smirked. “Oh, I did, trust me. You just have no idea how. I saved them from the terrible fate they had met. And I was curious to see how it would end up, but look! Xehanort was defeated. Light won!”

“Light had chosen a warrior and you let him die,” growled Aced.

“Then the more balanced it becomes!” Luxu could feel their angry stares at him. “Just kidding, just kidding. You’ve never met that Sora kid before, and it shows. He might be gone, but trust me, he will come back. Light doesn’t chose their warrior for no reason. He’ll be back.”  He raised No Name in the air, and the keychain fell right before his face, the Gazing Eye falling before his eyepatch. “And once again, I’ll be there to see this happen.”


	28. Light

Humans are so fragile. Their light has barely time to shine before going out. The brighter they shine, the shorter they do.

A blink. That’s all it took for them to vanish. I knew that, of course, as I watched worlds rise and fade away, as I bestowed a spark of Light into one and every heart to watch it grow and go out. Darkness did the exact same thing. It was how things were. How to keep things balanced.

In every era, I was allowed to pick Seven Hearts that would be given a Heart full of Light, and free of Darkness. In every era, I was allowed to pick one hero that would bear both Light and Darkness, and who would have to keep the balance. Balance was all that mattered to keep the harmony of these worlds safe. There once was a time when someone broke that balance, and both Darkness and I almost disappeared ; in order to survive, we had to recreate worlds apart, with the hope it would be safer.

But we could feel another war brewing. Darkness’s chosen one dreamt big, bigger than our heroes often did. Darkness allowed me to pick Seven new Hearts, with the hope they would be enough to counter the Thirteen who threatened our balance.

My own hero did well. As a baby, he restored a heart that I had watched over for longer than anyone else. This heart that had been the perfect balance. This heart that had been shattered over and over. My hero welcomed him, and many others, into his heart. My hero saved worlds from destruction. From slumber. In his short life, my hero did more than any of my previous ones.

Humans are so fragile. And balance matters more than anything. My hero’s light had grown, always balancing the other hero’s Darkness. As long as there was one, the other balanced things out. But when the Dark chosen one vanished…

Humans are so fragile. And we did what we had to do.

Balance had to be kept.

And I wept the loss of my hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had forgotten to post #26 : Lost Leaders, so be sure to check that one out even though you read #27 : Foretellers already :D


	29. Darkness

Humans are so full of surprises. Their life is so short and yet they cling onto it. The shorter their life, the more surprises they bring.

A blink. That’s all it took for them to do the unexpected. This was my greatest pleasure, as I bestowed a spark of Darkness into one and every heart to watch it grow and sometimes take over. Light did the exact same thing. It was how things were. How to keep things balanced.

In every era, I gave a spark of Darkness a bit stronger to thirteen frail humans. Just enough to make them stronger and survive a bit longer. They didn’t have to be newborns. Only humans I thought would do great things. In every era, I could pick one hero who would bear Darkness and Light, and who would slowly succumb to greed, to power, in order to keep the balance. Balance was all that mattered. A blink of time before, Light and I were almost vanquished by humans who broke the balance. The world vanished. In order to save ourselves, and to keep the balance safe, Light and I created new, distincts worlds for humans to live in.

We were omniscient, and we could feel the new war coming. My hero succumbed to greed and power, but used knowledges he shouldn’t have. I let Light find Seven new Hearts and watched my Thirteen chosen grow darker by the second. Balance was in danger.

My hero did well. Growing up, he started to become more and more curious about things, questioning the world order. So few of them ever did that, it was a nice surprise. When he started to gather followers, to learn more about the Heart, I was pleased. It was Darkness that helped people being curious, as they would be unhappy with how things were. There was nothing wrong with Thirteen Seekers. They would make science go further, all thanks to my hero. In his life, my hero discovered many things.

Humans are so full of surprises. And balance matters more than anything. My hero’s darkness had become so great that the other hero’s Light started to shine brighter than ever. As long as there was one, the other balanced things out. But when my chosen one vanished…

Humans are so full of surprises. We did what we had to.

But if his Light vanished, his existence didn’t.

I would have to find another hero to keep the balance.

Because that Light hero was far from gone.


	30. Secret Ending

When Sora finally came back to his sense, the first thing he noticed was the light. The lights around him were so bright it almost blinded him, and he could barely hear his own thoughts over the sound of the crowd and the cars around. He didn’t know where that was, but that city looked huge. So different from his homeworld. Was it San Fransokyo? While it looked similar, this place didn’t give off the exact same vibe.

He tried to call his keyblade - it didn’t come. He had not really expected it to, anyway. This was fine.

That’s when he saw  _ him _ . Purple outfit, ginger hair, Neku was hard not to notice, even in such a crowd. He was talking to a cute girl with a dark bob and big glasses, and both of them looked happy. So far, they had not noticed him. Sora smiled and walked to them.

“Neku, is that really you? I know I said I’d visit you guys someday in Shibuya, but…” Neku and the girl ignored him. It looked like they didn’t even hear them. “Neku? Neku Sakuraba? Hey, Neku, it’s me, Sora!” Still no answer. When Sora tried to put his hand on Neku’s shoulder, he went through him. As if Neku was a ghost. Or rather…

He remembered the discussion he had with the boy, back when he visited in Traverse Town, before their world woke up. ‘ _ In Shibuya, there was this… this game. You had to pay an entrance fee, and had to survive for a week, playing the Reapers’ games, fighting Noise. My first fee had been my memories. Oh, right, I forgot to say: in order to play the game… You have to be dead. _

Sora’s smile became sour. So he was dead, after all. He was relieved Neku was alright, and that he apparently had some friends to hang out with, but he wished he could talk to him.

Suddenly, Sora worried about his own entrance fee. Did he remember his life? He remembered sacrificing himself to save Kairi. He remembered her name, her face. He remembered his own name. He remembered their whole quest to save the Guardians of Light, the worlds he visited with Donald and Goofy, their fight against Xehanort. He remembered it all. Whatever his fee was, it wasn’t his memories. That thought comforted him. Was it his ability to wield the keyblade? Or maybe he wasn’t even playing the Reapers’ game at all. Whatever it was, he had to find a way out. Maybe follow Neku for a while, see if he could find some hints? That didn’t feel right, though. Neku was having fun with a girl, and Sora didn’t want to intrude.

“Behind you! Noises!”

He turned around to see creatures appear. They weren’t Heartless, Nobodies or Unversed, but they gave off the same dark energy. And he had no keyblade to fight them.

“Don’t stand here like that! We can fight them if we team up. Unless you’ve got a partner already?”

Sora looked at the young man talking to him. He looked slightly older than Sora, with short grey hair and stunning eyes - one green, the other red. Sora stared at him for a while, trying to grasp the situation, when the other boy rolled his eyes. “If you become my partner, we’ll officially be part of the game and we’ll be able to fight together. Didn’t you get a Reaper’s speech before? If we don’t act, we die.  _ Again _ . So, partners?”

He held out his hand and Sora nodded with a smile. He decided he’d trust this guy.

“Partners! I’m Sora.”

“Yozora. Nice to meet you.”

Yozora. He remembered that name, from that game in Toy Box. Could it be related? He shook Yozora’s hand and instantly felt a tingling in his hand. When he looked at it, there was a timer on his hand.

“Well, Sora, it’s time to beat some Noise and to get out of here alive.” Yozora winked, and a crossbow appeared in one hand, a sword in the other. Sora turned towards the creatures, and this time, his keyblade reacted to his call.

They ran towards the Noises, ready to fight. There was a thought in Sora’s mind that he quickly pushed away.

If his keyblade wasn’t the entry fee, then what was? And why did Yozora’s face looked so familiar… And hurt Sora so much? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically, from this prompt, you might be able to guess what his entry fee was. He lost something reaaaally important... but what could it be?


	31. One Wish

To everyone of you.

If you are reading these words, I am no more. I gave this letter to Master Yen Sid before we went to the Keyblade Graveyard, in case something went wrong. If this letter is open now… Well, something went wrong.

I cannot see the future, and I have no idea what happened, but all I can hope for is that you all are doing fine. I am proud to have fallen if that means saving you guys. You mean so much to me, all of you, and I cannot imagine a world without you. Even if that means you have to live in a world without me.

You all deserve all the happiness in the world. You all went through so much, more than I ever did, and it’s time for your hurt to stop. This is my dying will : keep marching on. Be happy. Enjoy your life. I don’t want you to mourn me. Grief will only bring pain, and I don’t want you to be in pain. This is my one, selfish wish: please don’t feel sad I’m gone.

Some of you might believe I will come back. I did before, didn’t I? And maybe I will. As of right now, I don’t know the circumstances of my disappearance. But don’t count on it. Don’t dedicate your life to looking for me. You are guardians of Light, and you are heroes. If you want to dedicate your life to something, it has to be to protecting what is still there, and not what is gone.

I know you can’t tell the truth to my parents. World order comes first, right? Just tell them I made my own raft, and left for my own adventures. Tell them I’m sorry. Tell them I love them. Tell them I’ll always be by their side, in their hearts.

And I’ll always be by your side too. Each one of you. You’re stuck with a tiny ghost Sora over your shoulder, making sure you’re okay every second! Remember that this ship runs on happy faces, so that’s all I want to see. I don’t want you to look happy. I want you to be happy.

Riku, Kairi, if you are still there, and I hope you are, I wanted to thank you. Knowing you is by far my dearest memory. I love you guys so much. We spent all of our time together, and we never let fate drive us apart. It looks like fate had it its way this time and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to know I’ll never see you again, but I will cherish every single one of these days spent together. I love you. You are the reason Darkness never could overtake me for good. You are the reason I woke up every morning. You are the reason I wanted these worlds to be safe. You are the reason these worlds are safe. You are my power.

I know you will be sad, and I know you will miss me. But I also know you are strong, and I’m sure you will turn this sadness into a strength. Keep doing what I did. Make sure the worlds are safe. Protect those I cannot.

Is this selfish to have one more wish? One last wish? One real wish? Feel free to ignore it.

I have to say goodbye, but don’t let it make your cry forever, even if I’m far away, I hold you all in my heart. So please, remember me.

 

You gave me strength, and I love you guys.

Sora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this challenge, thanks a lot to all of those who sticked till the end! Make sure to have a look at the #KH3MarchOn tag on Twitter to discover many many talented people who worked on these prompts as well!


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